Local News in Brief

Interfaith alliance plans sewing bee

The Cedar Area Interfaith Alliance is hosting a sewing bee today to make blankets for the clients at Canyon Creek Women's Crisis Center.

Community members are invited to join the effort today at the stake center for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 61 N. 900 West from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m.

Participants are welcome to bring their own sewing machine. For information, contact Gail Horn at 435-867-6132.

Register to be donor, help Camp Kesem

CEDAR CITY Camp Kesem, which supports children affected by parents battling cancer, is teaming up with Delete Blood Cancer to put on a donor drive on the Southern Utah University campus. Participants will swab the insides of their mouths to be placed on a registry of donors in the rare chance they are compatible with a patient.

The event will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Cedar Breaks Room in the Sharwin Smith Student Center at 351 W. University Blvd. in Cedar City.

The goal is to increase the number of possible donors in the national registry in order to increase the chances of donor-patient compatibility. Delete Blood Cancer will donate $2 to Camp Kesem SUU for every new registered donor.

The camp has provided more than 5,000 children ages 6 to 16 with free, college student-run camps offering the chance to escape the reality of dealing with a parent's diagnosis and to have an opportunity to enjoy a few days as a child.

To learn about Cam Kesem, visit www.campkesem.org.

Help kids kick tobacco on 'Kick Butts Day'

Kids in Utah will stand up against tobacco Wednesday as they join thousands of young people nationwide for the 19th annual Kick Butts Day. More than 1,400 events are planned across the nation.

Organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Kick Butts Day is an annual celebration of youth leadership and activism in the fight against tobacco. On Kick Butts Day, youth will encourage their peers to stay tobacco-free and educate their communities about the tobacco industry's harmful marketing practices.

This year, Kick Butts Day comes as new information reaffirms the urgent need for action. The United States is marking the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General's report on smoking and health, and a new Surgeon General's report released in January found that smoking is even more hazardous than previously thought.

In Utah alone, tobacco use claims 1,200 lives and costs $542 million in health care bills each year. Currently, 5.9 percent of the state's high school students smoke.

Members of the Washington County Youth Coalition in St. George will replace cigarette disposals with locked disposals at six area locations after conducting research to find where youth commonly take and smoke "halfsies." The event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Southwest Public Health Department, 620 S. 400 East in St. George.

- The Spectrum & Daily News

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Local News in Brief

The Cedar Area Interfaith Alliance is hosting a sewing bee today to make blankets for the clients at Canyon Creek Women's Crisis Center.